Recovering Vegan goes Primal! page 10

[Betorq]

Good luck! Even if the 1st attempt isn't perfect, which I think it will be, you get to eat it yourself & also feed the troops...

[Goldie]

Avocadogirl, about the rain: if it's warm and not thundery/lightninging (family terminology!), go play in it. My now-adult kids still talk about the times I took them out into the warm rain to play. And the times I got them up at 11pm to play in unexpected winter snowstorms when we lived where it seldom snowed. And when I made mud on purpose so they could make mud pies.

One of my youngest's best memories is when I duct-taped a garbage sack over her casted broken arm so she could go inner-tubing down our street that had become a stream in a prolonged heavy downpour.

Play in the rain!

[janagram]

Avocadogirl...that was me: 27 yrs of vegetarianism!! Aiiiiii!! But! I really wanted to lose some weight so I tried lowcarbing...which meant eating meat. I found that I needed a good enzyme supplement for a year or so...and now, I am back to using one again, since I am upping the fat, and furthermore, lack a gallblader. My supp works great, Superenzyme, by Whole Foods. You can eat those ribs with a little help till your enzymes recoup.
So glad I came to my senses...my health is so improved!!! Still workin on the weight, but not having asthma rules!!

[avocadogirl]

Avocadogirl, about the rain: if it's warm and not thundery/lightninging (family terminology!), go play in it. My now-adult kids still talk about the times I took them out into the warm rain to play. And the times I got them up at 11pm to play in unexpected winter snowstorms when we lived where it seldom snowed. And when I made mud on purpose so they could make mud pies.

One of my youngest's best memories is when I duct-taped a garbage sack over her casted broken arm so she could go inner-tubing down our street that had become a stream in a prolonged heavy downpour.

Play in the rain!

Ooh! I love to play in the rain, and my boys are usually amenable but it was thundering and my 5-year-old is going through a anxious period where he is worried about the thunder/lightning and our dog. Our dog is terrified of thunderstorms and will pant and whimper for hours during a stormy day. She was with us at the playground. We were fine when it started to rain, but once my oldest heard the faintest rumble of thunder, he wanted to leave because of our dog. I appreciate his empathy. We also love to play in snow! Two winters ago the DC metro area had two major snow storms and it was great! I was able to use my cross-country skis and take my oldest on my back.

Avocadogirl...that was me: 27 yrs of vegetarianism!! Aiiiiii!! But! I really wanted to lose some weight so I tried lowcarbing...which meant eating meat. I found that I needed a good enzyme supplement for a year or so...and now, I am back to using one again, since I am upping the fat, and furthermore, lack a gallblader. My supp works great, Superenzyme, by Whole Foods. You can eat those ribs with a little help till your enzymes recoup.
So glad I came to my senses...my health is so improved!!! Still workin on the weight, but not having asthma rules!!

Thanks for the feedback! I hadn't even thought about digestive enzymes. It makes sense. I'll check out your recommendation at Whole Foods.

The baby was up at 5:45 to nurse, so when he fell asleep again I did something radical: I worked out!!!

Here is what I did:

Warm-up-
8 sun salutations
2 standing yoga poses
1 balance pose

LHT-
50 squats with 20 lbs dumbbells
10 Shoulder presses with 10 lb dumbbells
20 bicep curls with 10 lbs dumbbells

20 knee push-ups
5 on toe push-ups

2 2-minute plank holds
A few other Pilates-style ab exercises- roll-up and scissors

Cool down stretches and twists

Then I lay on the floor wanting to go back to sleep when my 5-year-old woke up at 7:00.

Whew. Then oh boy, I was hungry.

Breakfast:
3 eggs and a whey protein shake made with coconut milk, berries, chia seeds
Coffee with coconut milk


Can I have a nap now?

[avocadogirl]

I'm amazed at how much I ate yesterday. The good news is that I really stuck to primal/clean foods. Nursing the baby all night and then forcing myself up to workout generated some appetite. I ate more servings of protein in the form of eggs, steak and chicken then any other day. I balanced it out with the remaining greens and zucchini from last week's farmer's market.

I was going to slow cook a brisket last night but then hubby missed his flight from the west coast, and is not returning until later today. I decided to give myself a break and make another cold dinner since it was just the kids and myself again. I'm not looking forward to all the business travel ahead for the fall, and likely followed by a book tour if he finishes his book by deadline.

The kids and I had egg muffins (just scrambled eggs with some puréed spinach baked in muffin tins) and green smoothies (mine with a little whey protein) for breakfast. I'm slow cooking the brisket today as hubby should be home tonight, I hope.

I'm going to attempt some short sprints on this mornings walk. My oldest loves to run and is doing several 5ks this fall with his dad. The baby is often content to be in the stroller for short periods of time. I'm hopeful that by starting with very short bursts of running while I'm out with the kids and dog, I can work my way to more running then at times when I am free to workout by myself. One of the games my oldest plays is to run to a obstacle (big tree, stone, street light) then sprint back. I'm going to join him instead of watching. It will be a good test. I'm cautiously optimistic.

A week from today is my father's birthday. If he were still alive he'd be turning 64. He died at 62, in October of 2010. The weeks leading up to his birthday and his yahrzeit since then have been pretty blue for me. I can feel it creeping in. One of the hallmarks being that despite being tired from working, parenting, cooking, nursing a baby, so on, I wake up in the middle of the night unable to sleep. When he died that October, I had the worst bout of insomnia ever. I'd lay awake for hours all night, replaying events in our lives, wondering how I could have saved him.

[Betorq]

I'm amazed at how much I ate yesterday. The good news is that I really stuck to primal/clean foods. Nursing the baby all night and then forcing myself up to workout generated some appetite. I ate more servings of protein in the form of eggs, steak and chicken then any other day. I balanced it out with the remaining greens and zucchini from last week's farmer's market.

...A week from today is my father's birthday. If he were still alive he'd be turning 64. He died at 62, in October of 2010. The weeks leading up to his birthday and his yahrzeit since then have been pretty blue for me. I can feel it creeping in. One of the hallmarks being that despite being tired from working, parenting, cooking, nursing a baby, so on, I wake up in the middle of the night unable to sleep. When he died that October, I had the worst bout of insomnia ever. I'd lay awake for hours all night, replaying events in our lives, wondering how I could have saved him.

I'm amazed how much you eat EVERY day, lol.

And without a doubt, if you knew better, you'd have done better, concerning your dad. It might not have been in your power to change what happened to your dad. Some of us die, some of us will live another day.
A lot of what happens to us in life, is chance, or G-d, or whatever label you/we chose to put on it. It was chance/fate/G-d that led that drunk Thai truck driver to mow me down. It was what I did afterwards, what my surgeons did, that was up to me/us. I did flat line 2 times (road side after being dragged out of the ditch & annother time in surgery) & ought to have died another 4 or 5 in that time, but obviously it was not my time to go. Same thing maybe applies in your/your dad's case, I think.

[avocadogirl]

I'm amazed how much you eat EVERY day, lol.

And without a doubt, if you knew better, you'd have done better, concerning your dad. It might not have been in your power to change what happened to your dad. Some of us die, some of us will live another day.
A lot of what happens to us in life, is chance, or G-d, or whatever label you/we chose to put on it. It was chance/fate/G-d that led that drunk Thai truck driver to mow me down. It was what I did afterwards, what my surgeons did, that was up to me/us. I did flat line 2 times (road side after being dragged out of the ditch & annother time in surgery) & ought to have died another 4 or 5 in that time, but obviously it was not my time to go. Same thing maybe applies in your/your dad's case, I think.

And thank G-d you're here with us now. Wow. I agree that so much is out of our hands. Whether it is fate or destiny or divinity or purpose.

My father was a life-long alcoholic. He was able to stay sober after being in an intense program. He was sober from age 51-61. But he started drinking again even though he knew that his body would not be able to take it. He started drinking again because his wife left (his 4th wife), and he was forced into retirement early by the firm he helped found. It's obviously complicated and I know he was heartbroken. He came from Zurich to live with me for 3 months and was sober, but he couldn't deal with being away from Switzerland and also having a small grandchild. Anyway, he went back and drank. And drank and drank. And not matter what anyone said or did, he continued. Then his liver finally failed followed by several other organs. He recovered some but then checked himself out of the hospital. He went back to his apartment and died that weekend from internal bleeding.


What can I say? I felt powerless all along. It's his suffering that keeps me up at night. I wish I'd been there so he didn't die alone.

On a brighter note, I feel so much of why I focus on my own health and diet and well-being is so I truly break the cycle of addiction in my family. Both my parents are addicts. I'm not. G-d willing my children feel deeply loved enough and learn to nourish their bodies and souls enough that addiction is not part of their lives.

[JoanieL]

Loving your journal! I don't think I ever had your energy - lol. Even as a kid, my idea of a perfect day was to read a book under a tree, then maybe jump in the lake for a bit. (I had a lot of wrinkly from water books as a kid.)

Anyway, your journal is inspiring me to move a bit more. And your upbeat nature makes me smile.

[avocadogirl]

Loving your journal! I don't think I ever had your energy - lol. Even as a kid, my idea of a perfect day was to read a book under a tree, then maybe jump in the lake for a bit. (I had a lot of wrinkly from water books as a kid.)

Anyway, your journal is inspiring me to move a bit more. And your upbeat nature makes me smile.

Thank you so much! I do a lot of slow movement and play with the kids, and am now just trying to get enough LHT and other exercise in.

And don't get me wrong, I like to read and veg as much as others. The baby is sleeping and my big kid is at a playdate. I could workout but I am watching Project Runway that I missed the other night, and on the Internet reading MDA posts.

[Betorq]

I'm a recovering person of 24 years, kinda post-12 steps at this point of my life. But both my parents have addictive personalities & habits too, and me too obviously. I heard addiction can skip generations, but its no hard-fast thing. But as you said, yer raising your kids maximally loved, supported & consciously, which our parents, mostly didn't/couldn't even conceive of, much less put into practice. So who knows...? Nobody does. But "life is a grand adventure or it is nothing at all"...